I was told this during my c-section after 32 hours of labor and 4 hours of pushing. Honestly whether it was true or not I needed to be told that to have peace with my birth. She was 8lb8oz and was sunny-side up no matter what they tried to do (including stitches and forceps). Maybe it was her position or maybe she just was too big but I would have felt like a total failure if they hadn't specifically said this to me.

My average weight is 125. I'm 5'3. I had a 10lb 1oz baby naturally. They don't know what they talking about......unless she pushed and pushed and pushed......and they had to C/S her cause baby was stuck. They shouldn't make that decision until a momma is in active labor.

Again, your clothing size and weight have nothing to do with your internal structure.

I agree many Dr's are overly cautious about the big baby thing, but it's a real thing for a lot of people, and a legitimate fear. If you've never had a stuck baby, or a major tear, or broken bones from a baby not being able to fit through easily then good for you, but it's something some people legitimately suffer with.

I'm insanely jealous of those of you who can birth big babies. Instead I had an 8lb 1oz baby 11 days early, 4th degree tear, torn cervix, broken tailbone and had to have vacuum and forceps used to get him out at all because he was stuck. Having a "big" baby again is a real fear for me as recovery from that took over a year and I will never be 100% again. I'm glad my current Dr's see it as a real issue and work with me to figure out the best plan of action.

I think that the statistics from the Birth Center Study speak volumes. only 6% of women who planned to birth in a birth center had c-sections. Nearly 25% of women in a hospital do. Many of those women were probably told that their pelvises were too small, but if they had been in a birth center? They were much less likely to have the csection, which shows that MOST of the time pelvis size/baby size is not a problem. Management of labor has a much bigger impact on labor progress and mode of birth.

Sorry, sensitive topic for me as I approach my 4th delivery and am honestly worried while people brush off my worries with "if you had a homebirth or were at a birth center or did xyz then you wouldn't have any problems since my size 2 friend had a 10lb baby just fine"

Guess I'm doing it all wrong.

edit: and I've had 3 natural vaginal deliveries (unless my forceps assisted delivery for my "big baby" doesn't count), but let me tell you, I would rather have a c-section than recover from a 4th degree tear and broken tailbone again. So for me, as much as I love and support natural childbirth, c-section doesn't mean you failed. You get a healthy baby at the end in both outcomes.

Sorry, sensitive topic for me as I approach my 4th delivery and am honestly worried while people brush off my worries with "if you had a homebirth or were at a birth center or did xyz then you wouldn't have any problems since my size 2 friend had a 10lb baby just fine"

Guess I'm doing it all wrong.

Me and you both. All of mine were c/s. surgery is no piece of cake at all. Getting to stay in bed for 10-12 hours with a tube in your urethra, dealing with gas pains from having your stomach opened...all sounds like fun! Women that choose this for convenience make those numbers go higher than what a Dr deems as necessary. Yes, there are plenty of women that could have vaginal deliveries that were told that they couldn't. And then there are women who chose to have their child born alive by having a c/s instead of possibly a still born or baby with brain injury from lack of oxygen from them getting stuck on the way out. No thanks. I'll take the surgery and all the complications that go with it to ensure I dont risk the health or life of my baby or myself.

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I lift my eyes unto the hills, Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, The Maker of Heaven and Earth. And I'll praise You in this storm and I will lift my hands, For You are who You are no matter where I am, And every tear I've cried You hold in Your hand, You never left my side and though my heart is torn, I will praise You in this storm

I wouldn't ever say that someone failed b/c they had C/S! A healthy baby is always the goal! For me, when I was getting close to my due date and planning a natural birth, stories like my husband's grandmother were very encouraging. She was a tiny woman - probably under 5 feet tall, and 100 pounds. She had vaginal deliveries for all her kids, and her third son was over 13 pounds! And she went on to have 6 more kids.

I know that it is completely necessary for women to have c sections because of the size of the baby. No issue with that at all!

In my friends case the only reason they scheduled an emergency section was beater of spiking a fever with an infection that she contracted during 18 hours of her water being broken. She never even got to 10 cm and tried pushing! She got to 7 cm and then they gave her 30 minutes before her section. It was a complete shock to my friend at 3 am after laboring just fine all that time. And there was NEVER Ny mention of size issues before that.

It was just salt to an open wound to have a nurse say 'its okay that you're getting the c section, he wouldn't have fit anyways.' She was never given the opportunity!